Men's Soccer Rallies To Tie UC Irvine 2-2 In Double Overtime

Santa Barbara, Calif. -
Coming off Friday night's stunning victory over Cal State Fullerton, the UC Santa Barbara men's soccer team continued to show its determination coming from behind to tie UC Irvine 2-2. The Gauchos record improves to 5-3-3, 1-0-1 n Big West play. while the Anteaters rest at 5-3-2, 1-0-1 in Big West action.

Both teams played dominating defense in the first half. UCSB tallied nine shots in the period, while the Anteaters notched five. However, neither team was able to find the net and went into the lockerrooms at halftime tied 0-0.

However, the second half was another story. UCSB took an early lead on a header from Neil Jones off a pass from Matt Kubota in the 52nd minute. The lead was short lived as UC Irvine struck back less than a minute later on a Jesse Peron goal to even the score.

After over twenty minutes of aggressive action, the Anteaters found the net on a Jon Spencer redirect off a Scott Bowman pass. UC Irvine maintained their lead and the minutes slowly ticked off the clock. With less than two minutes to play, senior defender Reuben Bates connected in a scramble in front of the net after a tip from Aaron McAthy off a Jaime Ambriz corner kick and the Gauchos evened the score.

The first overtime period was another defensive struggle with no shots by either team. However the second overtime period proved to be the Gauchos chance. Senior midfielder Anthony Dimech provided fresh legs for UCSB and rattled off three shots in the period. Thanks to the excellent play and two saves of Anteater goalkeeper Cameron Rossi, Dimech was unable to connect and the match ended in a 2-2 tie.

UCSB will end its eight match homestand next Friday night when they host Cal Poly. The 6:00 pm Big West matchup will be the first match of a doubleheader with UCSB women's soccer. who host Utah State at 8:00 p.m.